Skip to main content Skip to page navigation
Greater Christchurch banner image

Greater Christchurch Partnership

Greater Christchurch Partnership and Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee

The Greater Christchurch Partnership is a voluntary coalition of local government, mana whenua and government agencies working collaboratively foster and facilitate a collaborative approach between the Partners to address strategic challenges and opportunities for Greater Christchurch.

In 2022, Minister of Housing Hon Megan Woods, Minister of Local Government Hon Nanaia Mahuta, and members of the existing Greater Christchurch Partnership established an Urban Growth Partnership for Greater Christchurch – the Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee.

These Urban Growth Partnerships are part of the Government’s urban growth agenda to improve housing, land use and infrastructure planning co-ordination and alignment between central and local government and mana whenua in New Zealand’s high growth urban areas.

You can find out more about who we are, how we work and our key projects below.

The Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee leads and coordinates the work of the Partnership.

 The partners are:

  • Environment Canterbury
  • Mana whenua
  • Christchurch City Council
  • Selwyn District Council
  • Waimakariri District Council
  • Health
  • Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

The Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee is made up of the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee members and the Crown. The Crown is represented on the Committee by two Ministers of the Crown. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Kāinga Ora join Waka Kotahi as central government partners to progress the work of the Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee.

You can find out more information on who the members of the Committee are and meeting agendas here

The Greater Christchurch Partnership and Whakawhanake Kāinga Committees govern and lead the Partnership, with the support of their Chief Executives, who sit on a Chief Executives Advisory Group.

Partnership activity is coordinated at governance, executive and managerial levels, supported by an Independent Chair and secretariat. 

In early 2022, the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee and the Crown agreed to form an Urban Growth Partnership for Greater Christchurch – the Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee, to work together to advance shared urban growth objectives relating to housing, infrastructure and land use within the context of the Urban Growth Agenda.

The priorities for this Committee are to create a sustainable and well-functioning urban environment through decarbonising the transport system, increasing resilience to natural hazards and the effects of climate change, accelerating the provision of quality, affordable housing, and improving access to employment, education and services.

These priorities are being progressed through its first joint project – the development of a joint Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan, which will integrate with work already underway on an Indicative Business Case for high capacity and frequency public transport (Mass Rapid Transit) and the development of a Greater Christchurch Transport Plan. 

The Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee operates alongside the Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee to advance its wider strategic objectives in the context of intergenerational wellbeing where a collaborative approach amongst local partners is beneficial for current and future communities. It also provides a powerful, single voice to advocate on issues of relevance to the Greater Christchurch area.

Overview of the Partnership's priorities and key projects

  • Urban Growth Programme: information about Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan, Greater Christchurch Transport Plan, Mass Rapid Transit Investigation, and the Greater Christchurch Transport Plan. 
  • Governance: information on our Committees (including meeting agendas and minutes), how we work, and our submissions
  • Our work: lots of information about:
    • how we got here and what we’ve been doing since 2003
    • the range of plans and programmes being implemented to deliver the Urban Development Strategy vision
    • our Greater Christchurch outcomes monitoring
  • News: Latest information and news from us

You can also read the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee & Whakawhanake Kāinga Committee - An overview here. [PDF, 2.8 MB]